Future Proofing Your Success:

Social media is changing the world as we know it. Every day, people around the world, are utilizing the advanced modern telecommunications infrastructure and the power of their smart phones, tablets and computers to create a new landscape of connection, insight and meaning. Today, social media doesn’t refer to a single platform, tool or app but instead refers to a vast global constellation of connected products, services and opportunities. In essence, social media is a new paradigm of experience which is bringing people closer to the things they love. This is great for all the citizens of the world and it might even be even better for all the global businesses seeking to reach them.

Social media is driving a revolution in the business world which is as useful for small startup endeavors as it is for the largest of enterprise level corporations. All around the world, companies are learning that by connecting with social media meaningfully, they are better able to meet, understand and influence the behaviors of their customers. By creating high quality content, brands are able to tell their stories and the people that enjoy it are able to learn more about the things that are meaningful to them.

In this way, social media is built on reciprocity. That is, it opens a channel between businesses and their target audiences. Both groups receive tangible and intangible benefits from interacting meaningfully with social media content. The absolute best data around this behavior illustrates a very conclusive point: social media marketing campaigns, when wielded effectively, can boost sales, engagement and reputation in clear and increasingly measurable ways which offer clear advantages over other traditional marketing and advertising approaches.The social revolution which is transforming so many areas of the global business landscape has a great deal to do with the increased levels of connectivity which have become possible thanks to technologies such as smart phones, tablets and netbooks.

People are no longer tied down to clunky desktop computers, and with 4G and faster speeds becoming the new normal, it is easier than ever before to search, utilize apps, or connect with friends and the businesses that bring meaning to our lives.

The interconnected world is moving quickly, and if you hope to move with it, the best way you can future proof your success is by ensuring that your first website is optimized to look and function brilliantly across mobile devices.

Even if you have already been working with and earning a living with a website which is not optimized for mobile end users, you are missing out on customers and sales by not developing a site which is moving in tandem with the rest of the global business community.

Read on to gain greater insight into why making your website look incredible on mobile devices should be a core focus of any entrepreneur seeking to launch a successful business in 2017!

The mobile internet is where your customers, competitors, and suppliers are most likely to be found in 2017.

Smartphones, tablets, netbooks and other nimble, internet focused devices are no longer outliers but have emerged as the main ways in which people around the world are accessing the internet and for many of them, one the most important parts of their identity both as professionals and as individuals away from their occupation.

Just think of that very unique and specific panic you notice when you realize you do not have your smartphone with you. You might not have planned to use it in any specific way and yet, it has become an extension of your being, your own personal communications, reference, gaming, and dating tool. If you identify with any of this, don’t worry because you are certainly not alone. There are as many as 1.3 Billion people accessing the internet from mobile devices around the world. This number accounts for more than 80% of all global internet traffic. On all corners of the globe and among people of all different demographic groups, mobile devices are the champion when it comes to how people connect to the web whether seeking to browse, shop or research the brands they care most about.

As a result, if you are a brand which has not considered this and you are forcing users to search for your site on a mobile device only to find a chunky and difficult to operate website, you are going to be giving up market share because when people bounce from your site back to their google search rankings and load a competitor's site, you might never gain the ability to make another first impression.

That’s the thing, when people have negative experiences online, these impressions run deep.

They tell their friends, their friends tell their friends and so on. It does not matter if you are a small, medium or enterprise level business, if you wish to meet your target market in the best and most advantageous way for your success, you need to have a well designed and easy to use mobile website.

Mobile users tend to access and utilize the internet in different ways than desktop users.

There are unique differences about how mobile users access the internet when compared to more traditional desktop users.

Mobile users are overwhelmingly drawn towards elements of visual storytelling and applications such as Instagram and Snapchat. These visual, design intensive destinations are where people are spending their time and money. When websites look slick on the mobile web, users spend much more time working with them and as a result, higher levels of sales conversions take place.

Most online shoppers spend vast amounts of time looking at the things they want to buy on mobile devices. As websites and platforms such as Instagram work hard to better integrate point of sale applications and other financial services, there is every reason to believe that tremendous profits will be earned by the brands that are best able to design mobile friendly store fronts.

If you want to increase sales, you need a well designed, easy to use mobile interface which will allow you to meet your target market where they are.

It has been demonstrated that mobile users spend more than desktop users though there is debate around why this could be the case. Many of the people who use mobile devices the most fall into the coveted 15-35 age range. These users are very familiar with the internet, purchasing applications and tend to buy smaller things more frequently than other types of internet customers.

Tablet users who might tend to be a bit older than the average mobile user, tend to make purchases in a very different way. These users tend to spend their money on high ticket items that they research and price compare much more than other internet users.

Regardless, mobile, tablet or desktop users all choose to buy from websites that look visually appealing and from brands that they believe they can trust. One of the greatest ways to ensure your brand recognition and reputation is being built in the way you want to is to make sure you have a web platform which looks AMAZING on any device but especially on mobile ones such as smart phones or tablets!

Mobile users tend to switch back and forth between various screens and types of devices before they access a digital point of sale.

As many as 90% of users will tend to switch across devices when considering new purchases.

That means that customers might begin searching for something on their lunch break from their office desktop computer, later in the day they might discuss the purchase using their smartphone to show pictures of the product to their spouse, finally, the purchase is made using a tablet while lying in bed.

Though it is very possible and likely that you will convert visitors to your website regardless of if they arrive via desktop, smartphone, netbook or tablet, if your site does not run as smoothly or look as nice on one of those platforms, you run the risk of losing a sale which otherwise would have been assured. The bottom line simple: if you aren’t optimizing your content to be viewable by the largest numbers of people, regardless of the device they reach you on, you are opening up the possibility of missing out on sales from people who were already curious and motivated to act.

Mobile landing pages are very different then their desktop counterparts.

A landing page, is one of the first areas of your website that a visitor will see when they visit your site. Whether directed from a web search, a social media page, or a link from another website, getting these parts of your website correct are an absolutely essential element of digital marketing and business.

These are where online visitors arrive when they visit your website. They are your best chance to make a great first impression. They are also your best chance for conversion. Their job is to be interesting and generate online revenue.

It is really important when designing landing pages for the mobile web to consider thoughtfully the maxim, “less is more”. When it comes to the mobile web, this could not be any more true. If you try to focus too heavily on the informative text which makes a normal website informative and authoritative, you run the risk of overwhelming mobile users and the devices they use.

Instead, stick to snappy and short headlines. About 5 words or less should be perfectly sufficient for most pages. Feel free to add additional copy but remember that it is extremely important that the end result looks and feels natural when being read on mobile devices of various technical specifications. To gain insight into how your site looks, consider testing it rigorously before deploying it to mobile end users.

Google search rankings favor well designed, mobile friendly websites.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a somewhat mysterious and elusive concept that falls somewhere between a neat, codified science and an intuitive, creative art. Best practices are always changing but one thing that remains the same is the simple fact that the more optimized your site is, the easier your target market will be able to reach you. SEO is accomplished in multiple ways according to how your website is written and designed.

Google, search engine champion and builder of destinies, really favors well designed and optimized websites. A mobile friendly site will help you to maintain the traffic you already have while also directing a fresh stream of organic visitors to your platform. If you want to get ahead in business, you need to be able to accessible.

Google recommends “responsive web design” which means it: “serves the same HTML code on the same URL regardless of the users’ device (desktop, tablet, mobile, non- visual browser), but can render the display differently (i.e., “respond”) based on the screen size. Responsive design is Google’s recommended design pattern”. For more information, make sure you check directly on Google’s pages for webmasters. They make a wealth of information available which can be extremely useful for business development.

If social media is even a small part of your business, your website needs to be optimized for the mobile web.

Over 91% of mobile internet users use their devices to access social media platforms such as

Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. The social mobile revolution is a very real paradigm and failing to recognize its importance will only hold you and your business back.

A well designed mobile website will integrate and “play” with social media applications much easier. The better these linkages are, the easier it will be for you to direct traffic from your social media marketing efforts and towards your website.

Few would argue that social media marketing is an inefficient or unnecessary part of business in 2017. On the contrary, businesses of all shapes and sizes are narrowing their focuses and reconsidering their overall marketing efforts to take advantage of the social mobile connection.

Designing your website for the mobile web will only help your brand to grow!

Jason Stone is widely known by celebrities and almost 2 million people around the world as @Millionaire_Mentor on Instagram. Stone has successfully launched multiple 6 and 7 figure Instagram and Internet platforms and is becoming a well known social media influencer and marketer.

Known for his e-commerce success in the automotive industry in his early years with Treadstone Performance Engineering, Inc., Jason is a mechanical engineer, real estate investor, car enthusiast, and startup investor. Jason has Co-founded the Impact Billions Movement and also created Gentlemen’s Mafia Instagram network which culminates relationships and success among the thousands of its members worldwide and utilizes his experience and passion as a motivator, mentor, teacher, and social media influencer to help others create success.